


Worth It

by smarshtastic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Family, Gen, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 03:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14761838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarshtastic/pseuds/smarshtastic
Summary: Gabe doesn’t end up having kids.It’s a miracle he survived at all, really - in fact, hediddie. He died and was brought back a monster, and it’s taken years and years and years of pain and patience and hard work to get him to this point.





	Worth It

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [The Reaper Zine](https://twitter.com/thereaperzine)! If you missed your chance to get yourself a copy of the zine, head over to my twitter ([@smarshtastic](https://twitter.com/smarshtastic)) for a chance to win one for yourself! 
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](wictorwictor.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/smarshtastic)! ♥

Gabe holds very still. He keeps his eyes closed and his breathing slow and measured. To the outside observer, he appears to be asleep; chin tucked down towards his sternum, arms folded over his chest, legs crossed and propped up on a table. 

Only an idiot with a death wish would disturb him. 

He doesn’t move even as he feels the sofa dip under someone’s weight. Small hands pat Gabe’s cheeks and then probing, pudgy fingers pry open his eyes. 

“Hasn’t your mother told you not to disturb people when they’re sleeping?” 

“I know you’re only pretending,” Fareeha says, her nose just an inch or two away from Gabe’s. Gabe unfolds his arms and swings Fareeha up over his head. She squeals, her little feet kicking out happily. Gabe cracks a smile. He brings her back down and cradles her to his chest. 

“How could you tell?” he asks. 

“You weren’t snoring,” she says. Gabe laughs. 

“I don’t snore!” 

“It’s okay if you do,” Fareeha says. “Mama likes it when Uncle Reinhardt snores.”

“Well, your mother always did have questionable taste,” Gabe says. Fareeha scrunches up her face at him then snuggles up closer to his chest, tucking her head under his chin and playing with the ends of the strings of his hoodie. 

“What are we doing today, Uncle Gabe?”

Gabe exhales. “Who says we were doing anything today?”

“Mama is working and Uncle Reinhardt isn’t here and Uncle Jack is being grumpy and shouty at his tablet,” Fareeha says. She turns her face up at Gabe, eyes wide. “Nobody wants to play with me.”

Gabe squeezes her gently. He has a special soft spot for Ana’s daughter, which was a surprise to everyone but him. He grew up with sisters, he has nieces and nephews - he’s great with kids. Fareeha is a breath of fresh air around the Overwatch base, a constant reminder of what they’re fighting to protect. But, some days, Gabe can’t help but feel that Overwatch headquarters isn’t the best place to grow up. Fareeha is often lonely, with no other kids her age to run around with as Torbjörn’s rapidly growing brood mostly stays in Sweden. Gabe doesn’t blame Ana for keeping Fareeha close, though - hell, if he had kids, he’d do the same, especially in times like these. 

“Well, I’m sure we can think of something to do,” Gabe says. It’s the first day off he’s had in a long time and he had planned on catching up on sleep, but this is more important. He swings his legs down from the table and stands, slinging Fareeha over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She squeals again, a happy sound that makes Gabe smile wider. 

They end up in one of the padded sparring rooms with a ball and two kettlebells marking the boundaries of a net. Gabe patiently, painstakingly teaches Fareeha how to dribble the ball between her feet towards the goal. 

“Some day,” he says, gently kicking the ball back to her. Fareeha scrambles as it goes sailing past her feet. “We’ll get a hoop, and then I can show you a real ball game.”

“I like soccer!” she says. 

“It’s alright,” Gabe allows. “But basketball is better.”

“Nuh uh,” she says. She pauses, tongue between her teeth, lining up the shot with the side of her foot, just like Gabe taught her. She swings her leg and the ball flies through the air between the two kettlebells. Gabe grins, running forward to scoop her up and toss her into the air. 

“GOAL!” he cries. Fareeha laughs and laughs. Gabe settles her on his shoulder. She wraps her arms around his head and giggles. 

“I win,” she says. Gabe tilts his head to look up at her. 

“I didn’t know we were keeping score,” he says. Fareeha giggles again. 

“I am the football queen!”

Gabe loses gracefully to Fareeha, who manages to score ten goals to Gabe’s zero. It helps that Fareeha had been the only one with a goal to score in. As part of her prize, she gets to ride on his shoulders down to the cafeteria, where Gabe sneaks her a double scoop of ice cream. Gabe picks at his own dish as Fareeha wolfs hers down. She’s getting big - Gabe wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up taller than her mother. He hopes that the fighting will be over by the time that happens, that they’ll all be able to have normal lives. Maybe Gabe will have kids of his own. 

It’s not a thought he’s ever really let himself have - kids of his own. Given his line of work, his sexuality, and his exceptionally bleak dating prospects, it seems like a distant dream. Gabe has mostly resigned himself to it. There are moments though - with Fareeha, with his sisters’ kids - that Gabe wishes he’d get a chance at that peaceful domestic fantasy he’s been fighting for since he was a kid fresh out of the officer academy. 

“Uncle Gabe?”

“Hm?”

“You got a funny look on your face,” Fareeha says. Gabe blinks, clearing the wistfulness from his face. He reaches across the table and takes a big spoonful of ice cream out of her dish. “Hey!”

“Gotcha,” Gabe says with a wink. Fareeha stands up on her chair so she can reach across the table a scoop some ice cream from his dish. Gabe lets her - he even pushes the dish towards her so she can finish it off herself. He sits back, smiling his characteristically small smile, a warm feeling in his chest. It’ll all be worth it, in the long run, if he’s able to make the world a safer place for Fareeha, for everyone.

=-=-=

Gabe doesn’t end up having kids.

It’s a miracle he survived at all, really - in fact, he _did_ die. He died and was brought back a monster, and it’s taken years and years and years of pain and patience and hard work to get him to this point. 

But, he reflects, sitting on the back porch of a small, white adobe house in New Mexico, it’s worth it in the end. The sun is warm on his face and he can actually feel it, the warmth seeping into his skin. He feels alive. He lets his eyes slip closed. 

“Gotcha!” Jesse’s voice floats back to him, followed by a delighted squeal. Gabe peels open his eyes to watch Jesse swing little Ebe up over his head. Jesse blows a raspberry on her cheek before he sets her down to chase the cats around the yard again. Gabe finds himself smiling. 

Footsteps on the porch next to him make Gabe raise his head. Fareeha stands next to Gabe’s chair, arms folded over her chest, eyes on Jesse, Ebe, and the cats. 

“She looks like your mother,” Gabe says. 

“She has her temper too,” Fareeha says with a sigh. “I was hoping she’d take after Angela.” 

Gabe chuckles. He watches Jesse chase after Ebe, the warmth spreading through his chest. After all these years, he’s content. 

“You can play with her, you know,” Fareeha says after a moment or two of silence. Gabe looks up at her curiously. She meets his eye - there’s still an uncertainty there, but she’s trying. “You were so good with me when I was her age.”

“That was a long time ago,” Gabe says, looking away. Another moment passes, then Fareeha puts her hand on Gabe’s shoulder. 

“And look how far we’ve come.”

Gabe has to admit she’s right. He slips his hand up over Fareeha’s on his shoulder and, for the first time in a long time, she doesn’t pull away. 

In the yard, Ebe squeals again. Jesse calls out, “Gabe! I need another set of hands here!”

Fareeha squeezes Gabe’s shoulder. 

“Go on,” she says. Gabe gets up after another moment of hesitation then steps off the porch. Jesse’s pink-cheeked and smiling, happier than he’s looked in years. He holds out a hand to Gabe, who takes it. Jesse pulls him in. 

“I told Ebe we could swing her real good,” Jesse says. “I’ll grab one hand - you get the other. Alright?”

Gabe nods. Jesse moves around to Ebe’s other side. Gabe looks down at Ebe to find her staring up at him with wide, dark eyes that makes her look just like Fareeha when she was that age. She slips her tiny hand into Gabe’s. 

“Hold on tight, okay?” she says. Gabe nods. 

“Alright. One, two, three!” Jesse cries out. 

Together, Gabe and Jesse swing Ebe up. Her delighted squeals fill the air. Gabe looks at Jesse over Ebe’s head and meets his eyes. Jesse smiles, big and bright, and Gabe feels his heart swell. 

It was all worth it, in the end.


End file.
